Staff Reporter

PRETORIA — The government of South Africa has reaffirmed its commitment to work with Lesotho’s new government to further strengthen relations.
Briefing the media after a regular Cabinet meeting on Friday, Minister in the Presidency for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, Collins Chabane, said the peaceful vote and transition was evidence of a maturing democracy in Lesotho.
Prime Minister Tom Thabane is leading a coalition government of his All Basotho Convention, the Lesotho Congress for Democracy and the Basotho National Party.
Meanwhile, the South African Cabinet also noted that in preparation for the African Union (AU) Summit next month the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) Extraordinary Summit reaffirmed the candidature of the Minister of Home Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, for the position of AU Commission Chairperson.
Dlamini-Zuma will be up against the current chair Jean Ping for the top post.
Chabane said the Sadc leadership was of the view that there was a need to strengthen the AU to better position the continental body for the multitude of opportunities and challenges facing Africa.
“The election of the AU chairperson highlights the need to strengthen the Commission, the entire AU and how Africa relates to the external world as a continent, with a view to achieving our goal of a truly independent Africa.”
If elected, Dlamini-Zuma will become the first woman since the formation of the Organisation of African
Unity in 1963 to serve as chairperson. — BuaNews